Monday, February 4, 2013

Amherst Peace Accords

Hobart Lane: The street with no name

The war against rowdy rental units disturbing the peace and quiet of residential neighborhoods dates back a generation. In fact, some of today's violators could very well be offspring of students who attended the University way back when it carried the ignoble moniker "ZooMass."

A recent major skirmish, relatively short by municipal standards, came to a (sort of) successful close this past Thursday. The Amherst Zoning Board of Appeals allowed prominent local landord Grandonico Properties, LLC to withdraw their appeal of Building Commissioner Rob Morra's $100/day fine for violating the town bylaw forbidding more than four unrelated tenants per single-family household.

But not before paying $2,400 in fines and -- most important -- agreeing to change their lease language to clearly demonstrate they will abide by the town's zoning ordinance.